


Medicine

by paperprincess



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: College AU, Other, i hope it's not too bad, monster au, more tags as story progresses, the arrow twins are ooc, they don't fit in otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2161785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperprincess/pseuds/paperprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ava ire is a freshman in college who is about to get herself into a little bit of trouble. i'm so terrible throw me off a bridge...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ava Ire awoke with a start, jerking upright as her blanket slid to the floor. She gasped for breath as she looked around her dark and empty room, waiting for her eyes to adjust. They fell on the digital clock resting on her nightstand, blinking a number much too small for her liking in an inconsistent pattern. She groaned and fell back into her pillows, hearing the too-old mattress creak wearily beneath her weight.

She rolled reluctantly out of bed, her bare feet slapping the cold wooden floor unpleasantly. She stumbled out of her room and into the hallway of her small apartment, wondering if her roommate had even come home last night. Likely not, considering Ava had only seen him a few times since she had moved in a month ago.

She trudged down the creaky steps and into the kitchen, flipping the kettle on and prying the refrigerator open. As usual, it was almost empty save the butter and milk. She pulled them both out and set them on the counter, pulling the bread out of a cupboard and slamming it into the toaster. 

She rested her forehead against the cool plastic of the kitchen counter and groaned again, trying to remember what classes she had that day. Screw college. Screw everything. Why couldn’t she have been a phoenix or something? It seemed preferable. This was getting ridiculous.

The kettle clicked.

Ava swore under her breath as she realized they were out of teabags. Again. Screw roommates too while you were at it.

She half threw the milk back in the fridge in frustration. She stored back upstairs, growling as she tossed some clean clothes onto the bed haphazardly and grabbed her towel.

An hour later she stomped out of her apartment complex and toward the bus stop, eyeing every passerby who dared to hold a coffee cup. She contemplated actually hissing at the old man who tried to spark a conversation with her as she took her seat on the bus.

“So, little lady, where are you headed dressed like that? A bit early for Halloween isn’t it?”

Ava gave him the most chilling glare she could muster and sneered.

“What?” she spat, gesturing down at her long sleeved, knee length black dress, “this is how I always dress sir,” she tilted her hat down a little more, casting a shadow across her eyes so he could only see her bared teeth, “and I’d be offended at your comment if I gave a shit what you think, now kindly mind your own damn business, sir,”

The man’s eyes widened and he span around as fast as possible, missing Ava’s suppressed snicker entirely. She sat in peaceful silence until her stop, and then she almost skipped off the bus. His reaction was as good as caffeine. Well, almost.   
It didn’t take long to walk to her class, the crisp fall air smelled of the last night’s rainstorm and the damp leaves that were plastered to the sidewalk made a pretty sight. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all…

… Never mind. This day was awful and Ava just wanted it to be over already. The second she had walked in the door to her botany class regretted waking up.

There was one empty seat and it just so happened to be in the middle of the classroom and next to the one person she had hoped wouldn’t ever know she was in the same class as her.

Her name was Magnolia Lacivi, and she was smiling at Ava like you would imagine a large cat would smile at a mouse.


	2. the bird and the worm and the late-ish night crowd at walmart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ohhh myyyy gooodddddddds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone stop me

Ava swallowed, feeling her throat constrict as she did so. She walked toward the seat, desperately hoping she looked normal, despite the fact she could relate to Marie Antoinette’s walk to the guillotine. She could feel the classroom full of people’s eyes boring into her, but she didn’t take her eyes off the ground as she slid into her chair.

She busied herself with her bag, fumbling with the black leather drawstrings and pulling out her notebook. When she straightened up she fixed her eyes on the board in front of her, trying to control her breathing.

“What? Four years of high school, you haven’t seen me since graduation and you don’t even bother saying hello?” Maggie hissed teasingly, as though cared if people heard. Ava stared at her, trying and failing to keep the incredulity from her features.

“I have seen you,” she blurted out, cringing as the words left her lips. Maggie grinned, flipping her green hair over one shoulder and raising her eyebrows.

“I mean… well, I knew you were in this class… I just haven’t tried to- not that I was avoiding you! I just, well-“

“How is it possible…” Maggie interrupted, leaning over and placing her elbows on Ava’s desk and putting her chin in her hands, “that you’ve gotten even more strange and shy since high school?”

“Strange?” Ava asked, leaning away from Maggie, who abandoned her seat entirely so she could loom over Ava, still sporting that predatory smile. 

“What? You were trying to look normal with that outfit?” Maggie snickered, indicating Ava’s dress. Ava felt warmth rush to her cheeks, taking in Maggie’s own clothes. She was wearing a thick brown scarf and an oversized cream coloured sweater. She looked like she belonged in a ski lodge, not a college campus.

“I was trying to look like someone you wouldn’t want to talk to,” Ava whispered, flicking her eyes back up to Maggie’s. Her grin widened a little at that, and she leaned in so close that Ava found herself counting the freckles across the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t think you quite managed that,” Maggie whispered breathily, leaning forward even more and speaking into Ava’s ear, “so maybe you should take it off…”

It was, of course, that exact moment that the professor decided to stroll in and call out to the class to take their seats, and Maggie did so with a self satisfied expression. Ava felt herself flushing darker and darker the more she thought about what had just happened. 

By the time the professor had dismissed them, Ava had already sprinted half way to the exit, holding her hat flat to her head and clutching her bag to her chest protectively. She ran the entire way home, not even stopping to catch a bus. She only stopped running when the door to her complex shut behind her.

She trudged up the stairs to her apartment, fishing for her keys and regretting her panicky ridiculousness. Why couldn’t she act like a normal human being for once? 

Her door swung open and she strode in, closing it carefully behind her and then hanging up her bag on a hook. She reached next to it and grabbed her broom, kicking it up into the air and perching on it carefully, letting it scoot her to the kitchen.

Oh yeah.

That’s why.

She was fairly sure the witchcraft thing pushed her solidly out of ‘act like a normal person’ territory. Not that it was a bad thing. Normal people were obnoxious and irritating and hit on you in front of an entire class of people you’d rather be completely unaware of your existence.

What was she talking about?

Oh yeah…

Witchcraft.

Very odd.

So bizarre.

How’d you get all tangled up in it Ava? Do you worship Satan? Why are you thinking questions at yourself like an idiot Ava? Do tell.

Ava honestly didn’t know when it all started. She guessed somewhere between hiding from her ex best friend in the public library and her morbid curiosity with all things the local church disapproved of she must have found her way into a spell book or seven.

Seriously.

There were only seven books on witchcraft in the library and she stole all of them. What’s a girl to do?

She set her broom in the corner of the kitchen and turned to her mostly empty cupboard. There were a few herbs and spices she used for spells and charms, a half a loaf of bread and a messy sigil scrawled on the door to keep her roommate out. She should probably have kept the tea in there, now she thought about it. 

Thank you once again Captain Hindsight.

She shook her head as she grabbed the loaf and shut the door again. She slapped some butter onto the bread and poured a little sugar on it before folding it in half and putting it in her mouth she strode up the stairs and looked down the hallway cautiously.

“Salem?” she called around her mouthful of bread. Her black cat slunk around the corner from her bedroom and stretched languidly, its red eyes narrowed.

“Salem you nerd did you just wake up from a nap?” Ava laughed, bending over and picking her up. Salem purred in agreement and climbed across her shoulders, settling along her neck like a heavy scarf. Ava smiled and took her hat off, hanging it on the corner of her dresser. She settled onto her bed and let Salem slink into her lap as she reached for her newest spell book. It was thick and heavy and bound in questionable leather, and the shady woman she bought it from had warned her that she had no return policy. The spells were decent though, and nothing too shady was required. It was actually much more basic than Ava had anticipated when she purchased it. Still, it was a fairly good read and she settled into the introduction with a smile as Salem purred away happily in her lap.

She only stopped reading when the sun sank below the horizon, making the light in her room too dim to read by. She swore quietly, setting her book aside and dislodging Salem.

“Sorry kitten, Ava has to go get groceries because she’s a procrastinating asshole,” she said as the cat glared at her and curled up with her back to Ava. Ava sighed and picked her hat back up, slinking back out of her apartment. She considered taking her broom, but it was never very convenient for groceries and she hated walking into stores holding it.

She snatched up her back and walked down the staircase, thumbing her sachet of basil and clover nervously. Well, she also had her hair and a sigil in there, but mainly basil and clover.

She hated going out at night, despite her fondness of the dark. She had always loved the stars, but in the city, even a small one like this, she couldn’t see them like she could in the small northern town she and Maggie had come from.

She was regretting not bringing her broom after all.

When she got to the nearest store it must have been around nine o clock, and as the general public was aware, it’s a strange crowd you find at Walmart any later than eight thirty. She grabbed a basket and set about the food aisles, picking her way through the vegetables to the fruits, casting a longing glance at the spice aisle. She sighed and settled for a bottle of vodka.

She walked over, leaning over the ugly glass bottles, looking for a pretty one she could reuse. She hardly noticed the boy standing at the end of the aisle with his hands in his pockets trying to look like he wasn’t paying attention. And by hardly noticed, she meant she was considering hitting him with a bottle of Smirnoff just to get him to leave her the hell alone.

But she was a good person.

So she didn’t.

Instead, she turned toward him with a hopefully placid expression.

“Can I help you with something?” she spat, clutching a skull shaped bottle in a whit knuckled fist. The boy started, pointing to his chest. 

“W-who, m-me? No, I was just l-looking,”

“At what?”

“Huh?”

“What were you looking at?”

“N-n-nothing!”

“Then kindly piss off and leave me alone,” she grumbled, pushing past him. He smelled like cigarettes and vanilla, which was an odd but not unpleasant combination. 

“N-no,” he said stubbornly, following her toward the front of the store. She glared over her shoulder at him. He was wearing a leather motorcycle jacket and boots to match, and he had a smug smirk plastered across his stupid pale bearded face. He looked sleep deprived and hungry. He was also tall and muscular but Ava was very busy not noticing that.

“Facial hair is for middle aged men with too many children,”

“And v-v-vodka is for p-people who aren’t happy w-with their l-life choices,”

“Shut up,”

“M-make me,”

“God you’re infuriating. I’ve known you for twenty seconds and I want to punch you,”

“Y-you’d need a st-t-tep ladder kiddo,”

“Oh my god you did not just say that,”

“D-do you have a r-ride home?”

“What the fuck,”

“I c-can help you c-carry your stuff h-home if you want,”

“You don’t even know who I am,”

“I know y-you walked here,”

“What the literal fuck,”

“so,” he said, leaning against the check out counter as she paid the bewildered and exhausted looking cashier, “how ab-bout it? L-lemme give you a h-hand?”

“My mother told me not to talk to strangers,”

“H-how do you m-make friends?”

“I don’t,”

“Well,” he said, grabbing her groceries and walking toward the exit, “you just d-d-d-did,”

“Damn it,” she hissed, storming after him with her hand over the back of her hat, “WRONG WAY ASSHOLE!” she shouted after him. He turned around with a stupid grin on his face.

“Maybe y-you should keep up,”

“Maybe you shouldn’t steal people’s groceries,” 

“Maybe,” he conceded, handing her one of the lighter bags and pulling out the vodka, “c-can I?”

“Don’t drink all of it, and anyway, I thought vodka was for people who weren’t happy with their life choices,” she spat, imitating his voice cruelly. He chuckled and opened the bottle with his teeth.

“Well,” he said around the metal cap, “n-now you know,” he took a huge swig and hissed, passing the bottle to Ava.

“What’s your name?” Ava asked, taking a gulp like it was water. The boy nodded, making a face like he was impressed or something.

“Od-din Arrow, but you can call me Odin,”

“Wow, what a douchey way to introduce yourself,” Ava commented half-heartedly.

“I thought it w-was c-c-clever,” Odin said, shrugging. Ava shook her head.

“It wasn’t,” Ava snapped, taking another swig of the vodka and glaring at him. He was smiling down at her. He had a nice smile, but his canines were sort of… off looking. She couldn’t quite pin it.

“You just d-don’t wanna admit that you’re impressed b-by my ch-charm and wit. I don’t b-b-blame you, it c-can be overwhelming at times,” he drawled, shrugging his shoulders. She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way and sighed.

“So, what’s your n-name then? Only f-f-fair to l-let me know,”

“Oh shut the fuck up. You steal my groceries and make demands of me, I think I might call the police,”

“St-teal? I’m helping you c-carry them home!”

“After you stole them from the check out counter,”

“Hush you,” he laughed, stopping at the door to her building and looking up, “th-this is it?”

“yeah,” Ava said, heat rising in her cheeks as she reached for the bags. Odin shied away.

“Whoa whoa whoa, aren’t you gonna i-invite me in? I c-c-carried your groceries all the way here and you’re j-j-just gonna l-leave me here on the side walk? In the cold? In the d-d-dark?”

“Yes,” Ava said, pulling the plastic bags from his hands and holding the door open with her foot. Odin shook his head, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

“Th-that’s c-cold,”

“Get a sweater and stop bitching,” Ava snapped. He looked up at her, his smile a little smaller now.

“If you r-really want me to leave, I will,” he said, his eyes locked on her face. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow.

“I hope you like soup cause I’m hungry,” she said, handing him the heaviest bag and shifting in the doorway so he could slip past. He grinned and bounded in the doorway like an excited puppy. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please someone just make me stop


	3. why are you taking your shirt off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> why? why do you do this?

Ava slunk up the stairs slowly with hesitation buzzing in her heart.

Odin was watching her nervously, concern on his features and the back of his hand occasionally bumping hers as they climbed the steps side by side.

“Is everything ok-kay?” Odin asked, his brow furrowed.

“uuuhhhh yeeeaaahhhh,” Ava mumbled, tipping her hat down over her eye with her free hand. Odin reached over and tilted it back so he could see her face.

“Are you sure b-b-because you’re acting pretty odd, y-you know, a-all things c-considered,”

“What things considered?” Ava snapped, “You haven’t known me long enough to have established a normal pattern of behavior yet,”

“You talk s-smart when you’re n-n-nervous,”

“No I don’t, and I’m not nervous, just vaguely irritated at your behavior,”

“Mmmmmmmhmmmmmm,” he hummed, reaching the landing and glancing at her.

“yeah,” she sighed, “this is it,”

“y-you don’t get much c-c-company, do you?” he muttered, following her through the stairwell’s door and falling into step behind her as she navigated the hallway. She looked over her shoulder with a nervous smile.

“You… heh, I guess you could say that,” she muttered, “actually, you could say I don’t get company at all,” she uttered under her breath, fumbling with her keys and turning to Odin.

 

“ACTUALLY, I don’t think this is such a good idea after all,” she said, pressing her back to her door and smiling her nervous smile all over again, “it’s like, well… REALLY messy in there and I’d feel suuper embarrassed if you saw,”

“I don’t m-m-mind,” he said with a suspicious glance and a shrug, “y-you should see my place,”

“And… AND I HAVE A CAT! YOU LOOK REEEALLY ALLERGIC TO CATS,”

“No…” Odin said with a pointed stare, putting his hand on the doorknob, over hers, “I’m n-not,”

“But… are you suuure?”  
“Yeah,” he said, twisting it and pushing the door open behind her, “I’m really s-sure,”

“I um…”

“Ava?”

“Hm?”

“Ava.”

“What?”

“Let me into y-your house r-right now,”

“MMMMMM…”

“Ava…”

“Yeah?”

“Your g-g-groceries are on the f-floor,”

“Oh… heh, fancy that,”

“Do you wanna… oh, I d-d-d-don’t know… t-take them inside?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, bending and picking them up in defeat, then trudging into her apartment with a defeated expression. Odin followed her, looking around curiously.

“This isn’t m-messy at all, what are you t-t-talking about?”

“Yeah my roommate musta cleaned or something,” Ava lied, guiding Odin into the kitchen.

“Mmmhmmmm,” Odin hummed doubtfully. Ava blushed and prayed he couldn’t see.

She set het bags on the counter and started unpacking the groceries, and there was a seconds pause before Odin started to help.

“W-where does th-this go?”

“Oh,” Ava said, looking over her shoulder at him and gesturing to a cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, “it’ll fit in that one,”

Odin strode over and gave the handle a little pull, but the door wouldn’t open. Ava froze, her eyes going wide as she turned toward him in horror. He pulled harder, furrowing his brows and growling a little in confusion.

“G-god, it’s r-r-really stuck,” he snarled, tugging it again, glancing at Ava, who was pressed against the counter staring on horror. 

She crossed over to the place where he stood, nudging his hand out of the way and gently touching the worn brass handle. It creaked open, revealing the intricate white chalk sigil inside the door and the various ingredients inside.

Nothing insidious… just… unusual.

And by unusual Ava meant weird as shit.

Who the fuck has six bottles of their own blood sealed with red wax in their kitchen cupboard labeled with dates? Crazy people. Only crazy people have that Ava, god fucking damn it.

She looked back at Odin. He was gaping, open-mouthed at the contents of the cupboard. She took the tea bags from his hands and slipped them next to the jar of unprocessed honey and a half empty bottle of her hair.

Sometimes spells call for naturally lost stuff okay? It’s not that weird.

It’s really weird and Odin is about to run out screaming.

“Oh, th-thank g-god I’m n-not crazy. I was getting witchy v-vibes from you,”

“What?” Ava asked, closing the door. Odin beamed.

“Okay, so listen, I n-need your help with s-something,”

“What are you talking about- how are you not terrified right now?”

“So the other n-night I saw this weird c-c-couple, and I was like, oh, no b-big deal right?”

“Why are you taking your shirt off? Is that blood? What the fuck?”

“Anyway, this guy f-fucking pulls a c-c-crossbow on me,” He hisses, peeling away the bandages around his (well toned) abdomen. (Ava was so screwed for a person who was not getting screwed by the half naked guy in her apartment. Did this happen to people? Was this even a thing?)

“What?”  
“I know! T-totally crazy r-right? Anyway, I think they were hunters b-b-but I have know idea how th-they found me out, a-and there’s no way they didn’t know what I am c-c-cause the b-bolt was tipped,” he said, letting the last of the gauze fall away, black blood leaking from a deep wound in his side. Ava bit her lip and glanced up to his face.

“I have no idea why you’re showing me this,” she whispered, “you should be at a hospital,”

“Yeah, that’d go great, r-right up until they find out I’m not f-f-fucking hum-man, right?”

“What do you mean you’re not human?” Ava spat, watching him incredulously as he sat on her counter and struggled to fish something out of his pocket.

“Anyway, I th-think it’s wolfsbane, I m-mean, why the fuck else would it not h-have healed, r-r-right? So I need your…” he wiggled his fingers at her, now with a aged scrap of paper pinned against his palm with his thumb, “witchy powers t-t-to help me heal,”

“I… what are you?”

“Uggghhhhhhhh… do we have to do this n-n-now?”

“I don’t know any healing spells!”

“H-h-here, I do,” Odin said, handing her the paper and giving her big puppy dog eyes. Ava took it and unfolded it. It was simple, just a quick anti venom type deal… would be simple enough… except….

“Are you trying to tell me…” she said, gesturing at the paper skeptically, “that you’re a fucking werewolf? Like a real life werewolf with wolfy powers who howls at the full moon and gobbles up little girls in red hoods?”

“Wow, w-w-whipping out stereotypes, little m-miss ‘I’LL G-GET YOU MY PRETTY HEHEHEHEHE’-”

“Wow okay way to be a dick about it,” Ava muttered, looking back down at the paper and sighing. She went back over to her cupboard and pulled out some of the things she needed before handing them to Odin and stomping to her casting room. Odin followed happily, much too bouncy for a fatally wounded man.

“Okay,” Ava said, taking the glass bottles from Odin and backing into her room, “stay out here while I work, I’ll be out when it’s ready,”

Odin pushed in after her, closing the door behind him.

Ava rolled her eyes and set her things on the table in front of her, snapping her fingers to light the candles surrounding them. Odin sat down, holding his hand to his wound, his almost black blood leaking between his fingers. Ava started speaking shakily in latin, her fingers trembling as she ground away at herbs and combined them into a thick paste. She had never cast in front of anyone before; it was a little nerve racking. And by a little she meant really fucking nerve racking. 

“W-what’s that f-for?” Odin asked, his eyes fixed on the knife next to the altar. Ava glanced at it.

“I don’t do sacrifices if that’s what you’re asking,” she snapped, returning to her work as he watched her nervously, “you saw my cupboard, sometimes I gotta cut something, and when I do, I prefer to use a silver knife, that’s all,”

“So that’s silver? Solid s-s-silver?” Odin asked, nervousness edging into his voice. Ava looked over her shoulder at him, her hands stilling.

“Scared I’m gonna kill you with it?”

“It’s a g-growing trend, and that knife would p-probably do the job,” he muttered, glaring at the glimmering metal. Ava shook her head and turned toward him, paste in hand. She hissed the incantation into it, watching it start to glow faintly before scooping some out with her fingers and moving his hand away gently. She looked into his eyes as she gingerly touched his torn skin, his blood mixing with the paste on her fingers.

“I wouldn’t worry if I were you. You should probably stay here tonight,” she said, packing his wound with the paste then placing his hand back over it. She hissed the incantation under her breath again and he hissed like it burned him, the blood draining from his already pale face.

“I p-p-probably should,” he whispered, slumping against the wall. Ava got up, wiping her fingers on the dark fabric of her dress and looking down at him. 

“Stay here while I go get bandages, I mean it, okay? Don’t move,” she turned and ran up the stairs, crashing into the bathroom and almost stepping on Salem asthe cat came to see what all the noise was. She froze as she heard the front door slam.

“This bitch,” she hissed, sprinting down her stairs and glaring around for any sign of Odin. There was only bloodied gauze in the kitchen and a crumpled t-shirt. He had stumbled out with just his leather jacket and some used ace wrap, the stupid fuck. She dropped the gauze and wrenched the door open, coming face to face with Odin, a spliff clenched between his teeth.

“W-what? Is s-something wrong?”


	4. please put a shirt on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please Odin

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?”

“Havin a s-smoke, what are you, the cops?” he grumbled, lighting up. His lighter was silver, his fingernails ran over the engravings along each side before he flicked it, the flame was a faint purple in the dark hall, illuminating his gaunt features. He already looked a fair bit better, and Ava found herself distracted by the way his eyelashes brushed his cheeks.

“No, but I am the asshole who told you not to move after healing your sorry ass,” she said as he flicked his gaze back up to hers, taking a long drag and holding it in his lungs.

“Ch-chill. I n-needed a smoke. Maybe you should take a d-drag,” he hissed, purplish smoke spilling from his lungs. Ava couldn’t recognize the smell, but it was like vanilla incense and grape soda. She pulled him inside and shut the door.

“You can smoke inside just this once while I bandage you up, okay? Just tell me next time, I thought…”

“You thought I r-ran away?” he whispered, his tone husky and his eyes fixed on her. That predatory glint made her throat seize up. What was it with people eye fucking her today, first Maggie, now this practical stranger. Everyone is just staring at her like they’re going to eat her alive.

Well, in Odin’s case she guessed it was an actual possibility.

She snaked her hands under his jacket as he leant against the wall, hissing as her fingers began to unwrap the dirty acewrap he had clumsily slapped on. It fell to the floor and she fumbled with a gauze pad. She pressed it to his half healed wound, instructing him to hold it there. Their fingers brushed as he did so. She walked away and snatched up some clean bandages from the floor, unhooking the metal closures and pressing them into Odin’s free hand. Sweet smelling smoke curled around her as she started to wrap the bandage around his waist, the silk lining of his leather jacket brushing her knuckles. Her head started to swim from all the smoke swirling around her head.

She rehooked the clasps and looked back up at him.

“You should still stay the night,” she muttered, looking up at him with what she hoped was a neutral expression. He smiled.

“Only if I g-get to s-sleep next to you,” 

“I have a couch,” Ava muttered irritably. This conversation was hard to have with Odin so… shirtless.

“And I’m n-not asking to f-fuck you, just s-sleep next to you. P-platonically,” he smirked at her, spliff between his teeth. She chewed on her lip.

“Why?”

“I have trouble s-sleeping without my pack in the s-same house,”

“Your pack? You have a pack?” she asked, walking him toward the stairs with a pounding heart.

“Yeah. The arrow c-clan plus an omega or t-two, nothing b-big or sc-scary, just safe,”

“Can I trust you?” She asked, placing a finer to his temple. She felt his pulse beat, one, two…

“Y-yes,”

His heartbeat was steady. She dropped her hand and grabbed his, walking him up the stairs.

“Am I g-g-gonna st-stay?”

“Yeah, you’re gonna stay,” she said, leaning into the door as she opened it. He bounded past her, grinning stupidly. He actually leapt onto the bed and snuggled into her pillow excitedly. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. He really was like an oversized puppy.

He turned around and grinned up at her, and if he had a tail she could tell it would be wagging stupidly.

“Go put on your shirt,” she said, letting herself smile. Odin crossed his arms and pouted slightly, pushing his chin into the pillow, “no, you are not wearing your leather jacket to bed,”

the leather jacket flew past Ava’s shoulder, followed by his jeans, so he was laying on her bed in nothing but dog bone patterned boxers and a bandage around his waist. He snuggled under the covers. 

“come t-to bed,” he muttered. She shook her head and turned around.

“W-w-where are you going? D-don’t j-just leave!”

“I’ll be right back I’m just getting you a shirt,”

“I’ll c-come with you,” he said, propping himself up on his elbows and watching her intently.

“No, you rest up, your stomach needs to heal,” she said, “I’m just nipping into my roommate’s room. I’ll be right back,”

She shut the door firmly and walked across the hall. She hesitated, her hand hovering over his door handle briefly before opening it and walking inside. She grabbed a tank with some logo for a band called ‘TITAN inc.’ splattered across the chest. She practically sprinted out of the room and back into hers.

She climbed into bed next to odin, pulling the shirt over his head and pulling his arms through the gaping holes because Odin was protesting by simply going limp.

“That’s better, now, I’m gonna put on my pjs,” she said, pulling the covers over his head, “no peeking,”

She pulled the dress over her head and sifted through her drawers for a good sleep t-shirt. Usually she just slept in her underwear, but she wasn’t about to do that with a stranger snoring away next to her.

She found a soft, oversized t-shirt and pulled it on, smiling at the heart logo. She flipped off the lights and climbed into bed next to Odin. He immediately pulled her into his chest and nuzzled into her back happily, reeking of his smoke. He was warm and strong and the first person to touch her in months, so she let him cuddle her as he slept.


	5. things are heating up. then cooling right the fuck back down again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it smells like a forest fire in here

When Ava woke up the next day she felt herself pressed against another warm body, a muscular arm around her waist leaving her pinned. She wiggled slightly, only to find herself pressed more firmly against the chest behind her. That was when she started really struggling against the man’s grip. She could have sworn she heard a low growl as she pushed away and turned around.

There was the dark haired boy- or… man? From the night before. Odin? Yeah, Odin. Odin was still sleeping, his upper lip curled into a snarl as he growled again, one of his legs twitching under the covers. Ava slapped him with a pillow.

“See you around, blood hound,” Ava called after him as he trundled out of the room.

“Y-you aren’t funny!” he called to her. She snickered and grabbed her towel before disappearing into the bathroom. Ten minutes later she pulled on some more plain black clothes and ran out of the apartment at breakneck speed, sprinting out of her building and to her bus stop so fast she didn’t notice her sweater was inside out until she had found her seat on the bus. She groaned and struggled out of it, feeling her tank top pull underneath it. 

“Need some help there miss?” a small, feminine voice cooed from behind her. Ava turned and saw two familiar looking dark haired girls in their mid teens watching her, identical smirks across their identical faces. 

“No, I think I can handle it,” Ava growled, pulling her sweater back on quickly and glaring at them. There was something about them that set off the alarms in her head. Alarms that she had, over time, come to trust implicitly.

“Shouldn’t you two be in school at this time on a Friday?”

“Shouldn’t you be minding your own business, lady?” the twin with the bow in her hair snapped. The other twin looked Ava up and down, making no attempt to hide the fact she was sizing the older girl up.

“No Raven, can’t you tell? What we have here is a college girl,”

“Ooooh, a college girl, huh?” the girl named raven Cooed. Ava shifted in her seat, glancing forward, waiting for her stop to come into view.

“So, College, mind telling us what you’ve done to our brother?”

Ava’s heart stopped.

So did the bus.

Ava stood up and walked off the bus as quickly and suddenly as she could, rushing down the steps and onto the pavement before feeling two pairs of hands grab her and yank her into a nearby alley.

She found herself pushed up against the wall, a gun pressed to her temple.

“Oh, college,” said the twin that wasn’t Raven, her voice full of mock pity,   
“Don’t make me blow that pretty little face off,”

“Or even worse, I could feed you to Raven,”

Raven made a low whining sound, as though to say she wouldn’t mind that happening much at all.

“What do you want?” Ava spat, glaring down at the twin that wasn’t Raven. 

“Oh, just a little intel on our dear, dear brother,” she growled, she pulled the gun away and pocketed it.

“How do you know Odin and what did you do to him last night?”

 

“He was wounded and he asked for my help, so I helped,” Ava growled, pushing against Raven’s forearm, which was pressed tight against her neck.

“LIAR!” Raven yelled, slamming Ava back into the wall. Ava whimpered and slid down a little. The twin that wasn’t raven gripped her collar hand heaved her to eye level.

“He was shot with a posion tipped bolt from a crossbow. I mixed a potion to counteract the toxin,” 

The girl narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip on Ava’s collar.

“It was wolfsbane!” Ava yelped, slapping her hands over the girl who wasn’t Raven’s. She dropped her, letting Ava fall to the ground, then she stepped back. Raven hummed contentedly and climbed into Ava’s lap, taking a long whiff as she did so.

“Crow,” Raven whined, baring her unnaturally sharp canines, “Crow, lemme have her, she smells so good!”

Crow was staring at the entrance of the alley, a steely look in her eyes as her hand twitched to her gun.

“Oh, I recommend you don’t to that, tiny,” hissed a familiar voice. Ava tried to sit up, but found Raven’s full weight pinning her shoulders to the alley wall.

“Maggie! Maggie is that you?”

“Shhhh,” Raven whispered, grabbing a handful of Ava’s hair.

“What do you want? We’re not in your territory!”

“That may be so, tiny,” Maggie growled, her footfalls echoing faintly in the narrow alleyway, “but your sister is all over it,”

“What are you talking about?” Crow asked, her voice losing it’s edge. Raven’s hand loosened in Ava’s hair.

“Your sister is about to take a bite out of the snack I’ve been saving for a while, I really recommend you back the fuck off,”

Crow yanked Raven off Ava, pulling her sister further down the alley, away from the terrifying girl who was still advancing, scraping her long manicured fingernails down the brick walls either side of her.

“You should run away now,” Maggie spat. The twins did. Maggie watched them scale the wall and disappear over the roof of the building with a stony expression before turning to Ava, her face softening slightly.

“You okay? I noticed you didn’t turn up for that stupid class so I came to check on you. Good thing too,”

“I can take care of myself,” Ava grumbled, struggling to her feet. Maggie squinted.

“Yeah, cause that really looked like you were taking care of yourself. You wanna get chewed on by vicious teenie boppers then?”

“Thanks for the rescue,” Ava sniffed, turning away from Maggie and starting down the alley.

Maggie pulled her back, crowding her against the wall, one leg forced between Ava’s thighs. Maggie glared at her.

“You smell like them,” she hissed, her tone hard to make out, “I don’t like it,”

“Sorry I guess?”

“Did you have one in your house last night?”

“How did you-“

“Answer the question Ava,” Maggie growled, before adding a soft, hesitant “please,”

“Not one of those two,”

“One of their pack?”

“You know about the pack,”

“I’ll take that as a yes. You reek of wet dog Ava, I’m taking you to my place, you’ll be safe there.

And with that Maggie just fucking picked Ava up princess style and carried her to the bus stop like she weighed less than the thick woolen scarf she had around her neck.


	6. precious cargo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what was i trying to achieve here?

Ava let herself be carried onto the bus, and Maggie placed her gently by the window before seating herself so close their thighs pressed together and draping her arm across the back of the chair. Her green eyes flitted to every face on the bus and then slowly began a strange pattern, along the bus, out the window, regarding passengers, out the window, along the bus again.

“Why are you making such a fuss?” Ava whispered, her voice wavering. Her head was still swimming from the attack.

“I just don’t wanna see you hurt. Or… well… I just really don’t wanna see you hurt,” 

“Oh,”

“Promise,” Maggie whispered, drawing Ava closer to her, fixing her wandering eyes on Ava’s, “promise me you’ll be more careful? Shit’s about to hit the fan and you happen to have an apartment on ground zero. I have half a mind to make you move in with me,”

“I promise to be careful,” Ava muttered, her vision slipping in and out of focus, “But I’m not moving an inch,”

Maggie looked grim and pulled Ava into her arms again.

“I knew you would say that…”

Ava closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pounding in her head. Her consciousness started to slip, and through her haze she felt Maggie pick her up again and start walking but Ava stopped caring where to and pressed in closer, wanting sleep to take away her sore muscles.

She heard someone yell in their direction.

“What do you think y-y-you’re doing? Where are y-you t-taking her? S-s-she was in the n-neutral zone! You have no r-r-right to hunt th-there!”

The word ‘Odin’ floated to the forefront of Ava’s mind.

“She isn’t prey jackass, and if she was, she wouldn’t be mine. What, your sisters didn’t promise you leftover goth girl? Or are they as bad at sharing as I am?”

“W-what? … just hand her over, or.. or I’ll.. i-I’ll…”

“Stutter at me? I’m not gonna fight you, I happen to be carryin precious cargo,” Maggie shifted Ava in her grip. Ava heard a heartbeat through the haze. It was unnaturally slow… It must have had one beat every three seconds- and the beats shook her whole body.

“I’m n-n-not here to f-fight you… I’m here t-to warn you. S-s-something is c-c-coming, and Olai says it’s b-big. He’s calling in my sisters on f-f-full alert and th-they’re not as f-forgiving as I am. You c-c-cant so much as step foot in our territory, l-l-let alone hunt on it,”

“What? Like some stupid wolf hunter could kill me? Your entire pack couldn’t leave a scratch if they died trying, so I recommend you be careful with your threats,”

“Except you d-don’t have anyone w-watching your back Maggie. Y-you’re all alone against an unknown th-threat. Don’t think y-you’re invincible. That g-g-girl in your arms could kill you d-dead the minute s-s-she decides she’d b-be b-better off if you were g-gone,”

“SHE WOULDN’T DO THAT!” Maggie suddenly bellowed, shaking Ava slightly awake. She blinked a few times before trying to wriggle out of Maggie’s grip.

“Are you s-s-sure?” Odin snapped, sniffing the air. Ava heard him growl and wiggled again.

“What happened t-to her?”

“You’re sisters are what happened to her! She has a concussion! … I think,”

“She smells l-like they drugged her…” he paused, stepping closer and sniffing again, “but that might j-just b-be your stench all over her,”

“MY stench? My stench is nothing compared to your stink. The whole neutral zone stank of you and your kind, my eyes were watering the entire time I was there,”

“And you were in the n-n-neutral z-zone WHY exactly?”

“You do remember why we declared the neutral zone neutral, right? The reason that’s the border between our four territories? I GO TO COLLEGE THERE YOU FLAMING IMBICILE! THAT’S WHY IT’S FUCKING NEUTRAL! DID YOU THINK WE DIDN’T HUNT THERE BECAUSE THERE ARENT ANY DRUNK IDIOTS IN BARS THERE? OR FUCKING HOMELESS PEOPLE OR WHATEVER YOU FUCKING FURRIES CHEW ON?” Maggie was hardly jostling Ava as she screamed at Odin. Passersby stared as though it was some improv theatre piece. 

“Okay, f-f-f-first of all, I am N-NOT a fucking f-f-furry. Secondly, it m-may have slipped m-my mind that you g-g-go to college,”

“Oh, you thought that I couldn’t get an education because I’m a-“

“Of c-course you have to p-play the species card, d-d-don’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Guys…” Ava muttered, rolling, unnoticed, out of Maggie’s slackened grip.

“Oh, I d-d-don’t know, maybe that you think y-you’re oh so special j-just because you’re a-“

“GUYS!”

They both turned to Ava with identical surprised expressions, like they had forgotten she was there.

“Don’t you think this is a conversation that should be held elsewhere?” she mumbled, looking around at the small crowd that had gathered. Maggie strode over and ducked under Ava’s arm, taking most of her weight despite Ava’s protests.

“Ava is right, I’ll find you in the neutral zone somewhere,” She spat over her shoulder at Odin. He shook his head.

“You’re not taking that g-girl anywhere w-without me,”

“Excuse you?” Ava muttered.

“Yeah, excuse the fuck outta you son?”

“What, y-you can’t sense it?” Odin said, a smug smirk flickering across his face, “someone’s staked a claim,”


	7. very confusing and disjointed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok i know this is a weird, terrible, short, chapter but it's because Ava is almost unconscious and i'm a flaming shit lord

“What do you mean I’ve been claimed?” Ava groaned, her knees almost buckling as Maggie leapt forward and grabbed Odin by his jacket’s lapels, her whole body trembling with a rage too large to be contained in her slight frame.

“What. Did. You. Do?” the green haired girl spat, her face inches from Odin’s smirk.

His smirk turned to a grin as his hands flew to her wrists.

“I d-didn’t d-d-do anything…”

“Was it your shitty little sisters then? Was it your fucker of an older brother? Who did it I swear I’ll end them…” she snarled, shaking him slightly. Odin glanced at Ava, his grin flickering a little.

“Not that I mean t-to d-d-d-dep-prive you of d-d-disemboweling my f-family, to the b-benefit of all involved, but I h-have t-to inf-f-form you of y-your girlfriend’s r-roomate,”

“What roommate?” Maggie snapped, her knuckles turning white at the word Girlfriend.

“I’m standing right here you know,” Ava said. Her head was still spinning and the world seemed kind of uneven, but that didn’t mean she didn’t understand what they were saying. Maggie looked around at her quickly swinging her fist upward and punching Odin in the lower jaw with a sickening crack.

“Who’s your roommate Ava?’ she asked, holding Odin up by his shirt collar as he lolled backward.

“Uh, he’s this-“

Maggie snarled, dropping Odin, “He? Your roomate’s a guy?”

“Yeah, but I’ve only met him twice, he’s Indian and I can’t really… I cant remember his name… I just know it reminded me of a fish,”

“Finn?”

“I don’t think so,” Ava looked down at her fingers, which were trembling, “What’s a claim? What’s the deal with it?”

Maggie looked back at Odin and let him fall to the cement with a dull thud. 

“A Claim… a claim is… well, it’s kinda like sticking a supernatural nametag on something… or… someone. It makes it impossible for you to be… well, it makes this whole business more complicated. Is it Gillian?”

“That sounds really close now, I think it was Gil, and what business are you talking about exactly,”

Maggie chose this moment to turn about and kick Odin in the ribs.

“Get your pack to put out a bounty on this ‘Gil’ kid, I want him living and trussed up on my doorstep before the end of the week, midterms are coming up after all,” she rolled him over with the toe of her shoe and reached out to Ava, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the street. Ava had to sit down twice on the way because she was getting too dizzy.

Eventually Maggie just carried her, black fabric almost engulfing her sweater sleeves completely, Maggie’s huge scarf draped over Ava like a blanket.

“Ava, I’m gonna get that bastard roommate of yours,” she whispered as the doorman escorted her to the elevator of her building. She kicked the buttons she wanted, careful not to jog her half unconscious friend.

“I swear it,”


	8. pills and a sad lack of potions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava meets a new friend and also finds out some interesting facts about her green haired friend.

Ava woke up with something cold and damp pressed against her forehead. The world was too bright and loud. Not that there was much noise, but she could tell it was as loud as possible given the situation. 

She split her eyes open a little and shifted on the couch she was laying on. She heard a rustle just out of her visual range.

“Oh good,” a deep male voice grumbled, not sounding very glad at all, “you are awake. Maggie and I have had to take turns monitoring you. I suspect you have a concussion, though I am not a doctor,”

A ridiculously tall middle-aged man came into sight, holding a plate with a pill on it and a glass of water. He looked Native American and she thought she heard a very faint accent she couldn’t place. The only thing was, his eyes were an even brighter green than Maggie’s, if that was possible. If Ava put any more trust in her senses at that moment, she would have said they glowed.

“Now, take the pill and drink the water, make sure to drink it all, because you are no doubt dehydrated,” he handed her the water and used his huge hand to help sit her upright. She looked up at him while she drank, wondering if he was six foot eight or nine. His hand felt like it took up most of her back and his upper arms were almost twice as wide as her neck. He was chorded with muscle and there was yellow and green paint on his shirt.

He offered her the pill and she shook her head.

“I’d rather not,” she said. He nodded and set it down in the side.

“Maggie should be back any second. I think she only went out for something to eat. She has always been a picky eater, though I venture that you are not so selective. May I get you something?”

“I probably wouldn’t be able to keep it down. Sorry, where am I? I hope this isn’t rude, but… well, who are you?”

“My name is Tuls Tenebrose, I am Maggie’s care taker and guardian. I also happen to be her benefactor. I make enough to support us both and pay her college easily. Her parents entrusted her to my care when she turned seventeen. I have heard much about you Ava. 

“As for where you are, this is our apartment. Maggie said you would be staying a while, while she… takes care of your roommate,”

“She’s not gonna kill him, is she?” Ava asked, the glass in her hands trembling as she thought to the first time she’d met her roommate. He’d shaken her hand and given her a crooked smile, saying something lame and preppy like ‘he was sure they’d get along famously’ or whatever.

She didn’t like the idea of being responsible for his death in the slightest.

“No, no, Maggie will not kill him, I am sure of that,”

The way Tuls said it made her really uneasy. She shifted slightly and he squinted at her. 

“You look uncomfortable with that,” he sat next to her feet on the couch. He looked silly, like he was too big for everything. The apartment was obviously furnished to suit Maggie, not him, but the result was something that made him look like he simply didn’t belong.

“I am, I don’t like other people taking care of my problems,” Ava sat up a little more and looked at him intensely, or at least, she hoped it was intense. She wasn’t what she’d deem threatening, “I don’t even know if this whole claiming business is about… I don’t know what it means or how to get rid of it,”

Tuls eyes snapped wide. He looked at Ava like he was trying to poker face but failing miserably, “Ava, do you know for sure that boy laid full claim? Do we know his species?”

“I only met him twice, I thought he was human,”

“Claiming is a very serious business. It is not something to be taken lightly. If a person is claimed completely, other supernatural beings can’t feed off them or change them. But, that is not the worst of it. It is a way to monitor someone on a minor scale, I’m afraid your roommate has known your rough location for months,”

“Oh, fucking fantastic. Is everyone in this city some kind of monster or something?”

“No, don’t be silly Ava, of course not. There is no more monsters here than there is anywhere else. There is however a rather large concentration of Demons, which is why Maggie chose to go to university here,”

“Back it up a bit, what? Maggie’s not a demon I’ve known her my whole life!”

“I am afraid Maggie is indeed a demon. A succubus to be exact, though I think I would have done better not to tell you that,”

“Uh, excuse you, my elementary school best friend is a sex demon?”

“Don’t be so crude, we are not ‘sex demons’ so much as creatures who feed off easily acquired energy,”

“You’re a succubus too?”

“No. I am an incubus. We feed off of one specific host until such a time they break the relationship and then move on. While succubi can feed off one host just fine, they are not bound to them in the same way,”

“Okay, okay, more info than I needed, I’m wondering when I can have my memory wiped and go home to relative normalcy,”

Tuls just looked at Ava dolefully.

“I have no clue as to when you will be able go home, though I do know you will never be able to forget the events of this coming week,”

“Shit,” she snapped, reaching past him and slamming back the pill on the plate.

“Basically, yes,”


	9. This Is Nothing Like The Odyssey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is weak tbh i'm really sorry it's been so long and i haven't been keeping up with it, but you know how college apps are. anyway, thank you all for your continued support and happy new year!

“So, who’s your girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Who’s your midnight snack?” Ava asked, looking back at Tuls, who smiled at the idea, 

“There is a woman who lives near here, her name is Ranunculae,”

“I’m not sure if this is too personal but how often do you have to feed?” Ava shifted awkwardly, unsure if she’d overstepped her bounds.

“Not at all. I feed weekly. I can go months without feeding but… well. It’s dangerous, as I might attach to someone at random and lose control,” Tuls looked around the room, slightly nervous, “Once you have starved for too long you lose a part of yourself. Like you lose a little of the camouflage and you lose a little of the civility, you become more wild every time you starve and at some point it becomes something you can not get back,”

“Sounds scary,” Ava muttered, pulling her legs close to her and resting her chin on her knees. Tuls stood.

“Magnolia is here,”

“I didn’t hear her come i-“

“Oh Ava thank god you’re awake,” Maggie’s voice pierced the air like a glass shattering. Ava turned around and saw her standing there, hair disheveled and the knees of her tights were torn.

“You’re okay right? Like you’re feeling pretty strong and everything right?” the green haired girl asked, rushing forward and patting Ava’s hair, checking her arms and head quickly before letting out a relieved sigh and hugging her.

“Gosh Maggie, I’m okay, calm do-“

“I found him,” she hissed. Both Ava and Tuls tensed up.

“Where is he?” Ava whispered, as though her vocal chords couldn’t create any louder sound, pulling out of the hug slowly.

“Well, uh, he’s a little tied up right now,” Maggie rubbed the back of her neck, pointedly avoiding Tuls’ gaze. “in the hallway. And by a little I mean, like, a lot tied up,” Tuls was halfway to the door before she finished the word ‘hallway,’ and he dragged in Ava’s roommate by his thoroughly roped up feet.

“Magnolia!” Tuls chided, whipping off the burlap sack that was covering the boy’s head. His blue eyes fluttered rapidly, and his red-raw lips twitched around his gag. “Not in the hallway unattended,”

“Sorry Tuls I didn’t want to upset Ava by hauling him in here unannounced. Anyway, how do we get him to relinquish the claim?”

“Well, it depends what he is really,” Tuls replied, slowly untying the gag as he stared into the boy’s blue eyes. He seemed utterly transfixed, and he didn’t make a noise when Tuls pulled away his gag, and Tuls pulledoff his other bonds, never once breaking eye contact.

“What is your name?”

“Gil Marverde,” his voice was a low monotone, almost comical.

“Do you know the girl over there?” Gil glanced at Ava, only for a second.

“Yes,” he said, his eyes fixed on Tuls again, “I was stationed in a home with her in order to monitor her activities,”

“What activities?” Tuls snapped, agitation in his voice.

“I was assigned to her to ensure she wouldn’t join a nearby coven- but only after she was confirmed as harmless,”

Ava felt rage boil in her stomach. She stepped toward him and Maggie pulled her back, “I’ll show you harmless you slimy bastard!” she barked, fists clenched and face flushing. Maggie pulled her closer and shushed her, a hand running through her hair. Ava relaxed so quickly she knew it wasn’t natural, but couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Forget all that for a moment, how do we relinquish the claim you have on her? What are you?”

“I’m a…” this was the first piece of information Gil struggled to keep, but Tuls put a finger under his chin and tilted Gil’s face up to him.

“Oh come on Gil, it is just me after all,”

“I’m a siren,” Gil whined, kicking his legs a little in frustration. His face was flushing slightly and he was breathing heavily. Ava swallowed loudly.

“How do we remove his claim on me then?”

“Well,” Tuls mused, drawing back from Gil, who seemed half relieved and half disappointed at the loss of contact, “we could always kill him, but that is no guarantee, I only know one other siren- she could help. I think we will have to keep him around until we find out who he is working for,”

“What’s up with the weird trance shit?” Ava snapped, anger bubbling in her chest again. She couldn’t figure out why, “why is everything that’s been happening recently so confusing?”

“The trance is just a part of being an incubus. I don’t like using it on my actual hosts, and succubi have a stronger version of the same ability,” he said, standing up and stepping away from Gil a little, “to be truthful, I wouldn’t have used it had I known he was a siren,”

“What does it do, exactly?” Ava asked, pushing Maggie off her lightly, only so she’d stop stroking her hair. It was very distracting.

“Well,” Maggie piped up, “it makes you irresistible, like, have you ever met anyone so attractive you just want to get on their good side? Now imagine that tenfold. We can be that when we want to, but it’s damaging. It’s like you stop being you and start being this thing for the person you target- and you can’t undo the fact they see you that way easily, let me tell you,”

“So now Gil sees you as… really attractive?”

“Ehhh, more like… irresistible. Like he knows he would not normally find me attractive, but he can’t help it, I really dislike using this power, but I’ve just handed obsession to…” he clapped his hands over Gil’s ears, “someone who can effectively do the same thing, though I get the feeling he has no clue what his abilities actually are,”

“So we’re running under the assumption he’s not gonna make us tie you to a mast whenever he’s close by, right?” Ava grumbled, crossing her arms. Both of the demons looked confused.

“Oh, come on, greek mythology, ever heard of it? How old are you?” she snapped at Tuls, before rounding on Maggie, “Oh and you should definitely caught that one, we read the Odyssey junior year,” Maggie just shrugged.

“What can you do?” she said before turning to Tuls, “so, where are we keeping him while we’re gone looking for your siren friend?”

“I’ll take care of it,” Tuls groaned, leading Gil into what looked like a hallway to a bedroom.

“Where is he gonna keep that poor boy?” Ava asked nervously. Maggie shrugged again.

“He’s probably gonna cuff him to his bed,” she looked at Ava’s shocked face, “What? Are we supposed to just let him have the run of the apartment?”

“No but… can’t you just, lock him in the bathroom or something?”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, the handcuffs will work just fine,” Maggie snapped, swatting her friend's arm. Another second passed before she looked back at Ava again. “What? I’ve borrowed them once or twice, and they’re really sturdy,”


	10. Nevy Nervousness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guess what? i missed you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so partial nudity cause nevy is always partially nude, and it's short

Ava looked at Maggie, trying to piece it all together.

“Were you always a succubus or is it a new development?” Ava asked, pulling out a loose thread from her sleeve.

“I've always been a demon,” Maggie said, guiding Ava down the hall to the elevator as Tuls came out of the apartment looking dishevelled, “But succubi only come into their powers at eighteen, and that's when Tuls became my mentor,”

“Oh, okay,” Ava nodded. “Weird question, do you eat human food?” 

Maggie laughed. “Yeah Ava, i eat human food, i just can't survive off it anymore,”

“How often do you… you know,”

“Feed? Every few weeks. It's not hard to grab a frat boy and get my fill, but i hate it. I just want… well, you know me, i'm a hopeless romantic. I want a steady meal ticket, not mcdonald's takeout when i gotta eat,”

“Yeah, I guess I shoulda known that,” Ava mumbled. Tuls stepped into the elevator and pressed the lobby button. they all walked out of the building and up a few blocks in silence.

They stopped at a less nice but still classy building and buzzed in. Tuls pressed the button next to the name ‘Nevy Nervine’.

“Hello?” a sing-song voice crackled. Tuls leaned in awkwardly. 

“Nevy, it’s Tuls, I need a hand, can you let me up?” He asked, seemingly nervous. the device buzzed and the door unlocked, Tuls gestured the girls to follow and led them up.

They knocked on her door, on level three, and she swung it open immediately. Ava’s jaw dropped.

The woman stood there in a see through, robin’s egg blue teddy, fluff around the very short hemline, her underwear visible, her hair tightly coiled but long to the point of absurdity and her dark skin smoother than anyone’s had a right to be. She was gorgeous, breathtaking, unnatural from her blue hair to her alluring smile. Ava felt herself recoil in the back of her mind, her fight or flight response kick into motion somewhere deep and muffled.

“Oh dear,” she said in a sing song southern accent, “Tulsy you didn't say you had company! I would have put out lemonade,” she pouted and put her hands on her wide hips. 

“Nevy, this is business, we need to speak inside,” Tuls intoned.

“Very well,” she said, still southern but less sing song, more of her danger apparent, “come in honey, take a seat,”

They filed in, Ava giving the woman a wide berth. She could smell danger from her every pore. Here was a woman who knew how to pull someone's strings.

“So,” Nevy smiled, a predator in every inch, “what brings you here?”

“I have here a young witch,” Tuls gestured to Ava, “who has been marked by a siren without permission,” Ava shifted nervously, “We need help lifting it,”

“Oh darling, that's just such a shame,” Nevy said, sitting on the arm of the chair Ava had perched on. Ava shifted nervously. Nevy laughed.

“Oh I won't bite you honey,” she sang, “Even if I did it wouldn't do a thing,” she brushed Ava’s hair back, “that siren had you pretty good from the looks of it, he really outdid himself,”

“Can you lift it?” Maggie snapped, glaring at Nevy. Nevy looked up at her.

“No, but he can, and if he doesn't know how I can show him,” she looked back at Tuls.

“Do you have him?”

“Yes, follow me,”


	11. A TITANic Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the plot thickens.....

Nevy Nervine had thrown on a bright blue trench coat and followed them back to Tuls’ building. He had quickly explained using his powers on Ava's roommate, which had sent Nevy into hysterics for a good ten minutes.

“You did what? Oh gods Tuls, you really got yourself into it this time didn't you? What'll Ranunculae say?” she’d howled, clutching her stomach as she pulled on her powder blue heels. 

By the time they'd all piled into the elevator at Tuls’ apartment building however, Nevy had calmed down. It was easier to be near her now she wasn't half naked, but Ava wasn't comfortable. She was too powerful for her presence to be anywhere close to normalcy.

Oh normalcy, Ava sighed internally, how under appreciated you are.

Maggie pulled Ava’s arm, and when Ava turned around her friend was wearing a worried expression.

“Ava, I need to talk to you privately while they go look over your roommate,”

Tuls politely feigned deafness, but Nevy’s lips slid into a grin that made Ava uncomfortable.

“Of course Maggie,” She hissed, “but I'd like this claim or whatever it is to be gone as soon as possible. I still don't understand what's going on here. I want answers too. We’ll talk when there's time,”

“You girls overestimate your ability to whisper,” Nevy laughed, looking down at them.

“I think they just overestimated your ability to be tactful, Nevy,” Tuls said offhandedly. Nevy’s smile dissipated, and so did a sort of pressure in the elevator. the door slid open with a cheerful bell.

They all rushed into the apartment and Nevy immediately she'd her trenchcoat. Ava noticed the Teddy wasn't squished or wrinkled from being covered up. it fanned back out effortlessly. She also thought it looked different, less transparent in the lighting of Tuls penthouse.

Nevy's powers are less established here. It isn't her lair. A voice in her head whispered. 

“Let me see my little cousin, Tuls dear, lead the way,” She said, unbuckling her frankly unnecessarily high heels. Ava wondered if she was a showgirl. It'd explain a lot.

Tuls nodded and lead her to his room, and Maggie grabbed Ava’s hand before she could follow.

“Hey Ava, you can tell me the truth. Did you… did you let that kid mark you?” She asked, pushing her hair out of her eyes, “Cause, you know, we’re friends, and i know i said you were a snack or whatever to those little wolf kids from the Arrow pride or troop or whatever they're called, and I totally didn't mean it like that i just wanted to scare them off-” she was blushing now, “But you totally have a right to hate me after everything that's happened, like pretty much all of highschool, and i know i'm like the Actual Worst, but i really just.. want you to be safe? And i want… i want to be your best friend again? if that's cool?”

Ava could feel her jaw threatening to drop. “i didn't let him do anything... and, uh, yeah. We can be best friends, i didn't-” but she was cut off as Maggie pulled her in for a hug. It felt right. 

Tuls voice carried from his room, “Ava? Maggie? if you could please join us?”

“Your dinner plans can wait girls! We have bigger fish to fry!” Nevy called, her voice followed by a yelp. Ava and Maggie looked at each other and then rushed into Tuls’ room.

Gil was handcuffed to the bed, sweating and trying to slide his hand out of the cuff. Nevy was standing in front of him, frowning, staring at his face. Tuls was towering in the furthest corner, sweating, teeth gritted. His fists were clenched.

Gil glared at Ava when she came in, his face contorting angrily.

“Oh here she is, my assignment. You're more trouble than you're worth,” this sudden harshness did not tally with the impression she had previously had of him at all.

“Listen, I didn't ask for you to be assigned to me or whatever, so you know, fuck you maybe? Get your dumb claim off me and then you can go,”

“Except i can't cause the followers will kill me for getting discovered,” Gil sneered, “and i'll never get a place at TITAN labs and i'll never get cured, so thanks for ruining my life,”

“TITAN labs? that band you like?” Ava asked, cocking her head to the side. Gil rolled his eyes.

“You thought it was a BAND? God, you're dumber than they said you were,” Ava had to hold her hand out as Maggie balled her fists.

“So what is it?”

“It's a company… of sorts,” Gil shifted uncomfortably, looking up at Nevy then over at Tuls, “are… you sure you can't unlock these cuffs for me?” Gil asked in a sing song tone. Tuls took a shaky step forward, every muscle in his body at war with itself, but then quickly stepped back. Gil frowned.

“You can't use it right,” Nevy said, shaking her head, “You've had it locked down for too long, you can't just whip it out. Answer Ava,”

Gil sighed, looking at Nevy as he replied this time, “TITAN specialises in hunting and keeping track of monsters like you. They moved here pretty recently because of the wolf infestation on the other side of the city. They can cure people. If you work your way up they send you to the labs and they’ll actually fix you. But you have to work for it,” 

“Okay, so, you're a hunter?” Ava asked bitterly. Gil looked back at her.

“I will be once I’m cured,”

Nevy snarled, stepping back from the boy in front of her, “Oh, please. You can't change who you are,”

“TITAN can! They fix people!” Gil snapped, yanking the handcuffs again. Nevy shook her head.

“Tuls we can't let them destabilise the city. The truce with the Arrows is delicate. If they start dying…”

“Odin!” Ava yelped. Everyone in the room turned to her. She covered her mouth, speaking through her fingers, “the wolf from earlier Maggie, I healed him from a wolfsbane-inflicted wound. They're already attacking. They're killing people!”

“Not people,” Gil laughed, “Don't you realise? We're not people! We're monsters,”

Ava glared at him, but Nevy spoke first.

“Maybe not humans,” She whispered, “But we’re people. And we’re going to stop this,”


	12. Ava Has Had It Up To Here, A Place Considerably High Above Her Head, Which Is Not Very High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and heres the next chapter

Gil had remained handcuffed to Tuls’ bed while the rest of the group converged around his kitchen counter. He kept offering everyone tea and running his hand through his hair. Maggie was watching him with a mix of concern and amusement. Nevy shook her head.

“Tuls, you're lucky this kid doesn't know what he’s doing. I could tell he was trying for something,”

“Yeah,” Maggie snapped, “Trying to escape,”

“Before you came in the room the kid was trying to get Tuls to run off with him. Oh Tuls, why'd you use your power so indiscriminately? You did yourself damage,” Nevy groaned. She bit her lip, cocking her hip to the side. “Well now we have this whole TITAN mess, and Ava still has this claim on her. I can take care of it though, or rather, Tuls can, since all it takes is the siren who placed the claim to revoke it and Tuls here has a bargaining chip, we can rest easy on that score,”

“A bargaining chip?” Tuls snapped. Nevy grinned, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. 

“Well, if anyone can convince loverboy, you can,” Nevy laughed, reverting quickly to her sing song tone, “Tuls, can't you just help poor Ava out?”

“Okay, okay, but I think we’re underestimating how powerful Gil really is. We’re all lucky he can't use his powers to their full extent,” He said, cradling his mug in his hands as he leaned his elbows onto the counter, his impressive height settling oddly. A long, quavering note sounded from the bedroom, and they all froze. Tuls looked like a man about to be taken to the gallows. Another note sounded, the beginnings of a scale. The mug in Tuls’ hands shattered. The tea in it leaked across the counter, he stood, made a halting, jerking movement, then grabbed the counter as though to balance himself. Nevy frowned.

“No kidding. Listen, the kids trying to move on you. Go in there and tell him whatever he needs to hear so he lets Ava go, then we’ll figure it out from there,”

“Okay, but Ava should come too,” Tuls said, his hands shaking as he dried them on his jacket, which he then peeled off to reveal his paint splattered shirt. Ava rubbed her forehead.

“Okay, it's a deal,” she said, steeling herself to go back into the room and have the stupid mark lifted. 

It seemed Tuls was doing the same thing. He was clenching his jaw, the muscles of his jaw working furiously. 

They re-entered the bedroom. Gil whipped around, his eyes fixed on Tuls. He smiled.

“Come on, let me go,” he said, pulling his arm hard against the shackle on his wrist. Tuls swallowed. Ava felt magic unfurl into the room as Tuls cleared his throat.

“You need to lift the mark on Ava before you can go anywhere,” He said, his voice smooth again, he looked piercingly at the boy on the bed. Gil’s smile faded, he looked hypnotised again. 

“I can't, I'm… under… I’m under orders…”

“Come on Gil, for me?” Tuls goaded, smiling. Gil relaxed.

“She needs to come here,” He said, gesturing for her to come closer, without sparing her a glance.

“Ava, go to him,” Tuls said, his low voice reassuring, his hand pushing his words into the room.

Ava walked over to the man on the bed, who didn't take his eyes off Tuls as he took Ava's hand in his. She felt something stutter through her veins, like her veins were collapsing from a needle drawing blood too fast for her heart to supply. Not pain, but it wasn't nice. 

After a moment Gil spoke, “It's gone, she's free,”

“Thank you Gil,”

Gil whimpered at the sound of his name, letting go of Ava’s hand and moving to get up, his cuff jingling angrily as he watched Tuls’ unchanging expression. He let out a noise, pathetic at first but it began to swell to a musical note, filling the room quickly. Tuls’ hands began shaking, he pushed his hair out of his face and took a trembling breath. 

Gil’s voice was piercing, harrowing. Tuls was quaking with the effort of staying still. Ava covered her eyes and shook her head. 

“This is all way too fast,” She said. Both men looked at her, surprised. she could feel the past few days events all well up inside her. Tears stung her eyes and her voice trembled, “You need to stop! there are things in this world beyond explanation, trust me, no one knows it better than I do but oh my gods this has been so overwhelming! you're all acting so strange and it's frankly awful to be straight up tossed in the deep end without warning so if you could all do me a favour and tone it down for five fucking minutes, that'd be nice,”

“Ava,” Tuls said, trying to inject some calm into the room, “It’s alright,”

“Says the demon with a kid chained to his bed,” Ava snapped. Gil grunted.

“I'm older than you,”

“Ava,” Tuls began again, but Ava held up her hand. Magic crackled through the room, eradicating the remnants of Gil's spell. Ava made a half-conscious note and then continued.

“I’m going to go home. I'm going to go to class. I'm going to cast some wards and protect my apartment and someone needs to feed Salem, so you all have to make ten minutes of plans without me,”

“Your apartment isn't safe,” Tuls reasoned. Ava looked at him coldly.

“Nowhere is if there are hunters running around. I have a cat. It needs to be fed and kept safe, it might be my familiar I’m honestly not sure,”

“Maggie will stay with you,” Tuls asserted firmly. Ava shook her head.

“Maggie stays here, before I go, we need to figure out what to do with internalised monster-hatred over here,” She said, gesturing at Gil, who looked offended.

Nevy appeared and leaned up against the doorframe, Maggie in close pursuit looking stressed and decidedly green. “I’ll take him,” She said, “little cousin needs a teacher,”

“That's settled then,” Ava said, dusting off her hands and putting them on her hips. Maggie frowned.

“I think i need to stay with you. You might not be safe,”

Ava turned and smiled at Maggie. “I can look after myself,”

“I literally saved you from two kids,” Maggie interjected, brow furrowed, “You were about to get eaten by two toddlers,”

“They had a gun,”

“You’re a witch!”

“Just let Maggie stay with you Ava,” Nevy snapped. 

“There is no way I’m going to sign up for her babysitting me!” Ava snapped. Maggie looked offended. Ava glared around the room. “She’s not staying with me tonight,”

**Author's Note:**

> follow my ava's demon blog http://notarealmonster.tumblr.com to hear me complain endlessly about literally everything and also other things


End file.
